Tag Archive: Symphony

In 1997 Sasha and John Digweed released a mix album called Northern Exposure 2, a record which is now regarded as a classic by fans of Electronic Dance Music.
For me, the absolute stand out track on the album was a tune called “Symphony” by Hybrid. I had literally never heard anything like this before: the deeply emotional sounds of the string section (performed by the Russian Federal Orchestra) paired with tough-as-nails rolling breakbeats are such a powerful and emotive combination that I was (and still am 14 years later) completely blown away….
Hybrid went on to release an album in 1999 called Wide Angle, this contained a “Finished” mix of Symphony along with other epic tunes such as “If I survive”, “Dreaming Your Dreams” and “Beachcoma”. People described their sound as “cinematic”, which I think sum’s it up pretty well – the soundscapes which they create are very reminiscent of film scores… a fact which has obviously not escaped the attention of Holywood, as in addition to producing soundtracks to numerous computer games, this Welsh group have created the scores for more than 10 blockbuster movies including “Fast Five”, “X-Men Origins – Wolverine”, “Man on Fire”, “Unstoppable”, “The Taking of Pelham 123″ and “Deja Vu” (oddly 4 of which star Denzel Washington…. perhaps he’s a fan too!).
Hybrid have also completed over 100 remixes of more than 40 artists, some of which I have included in this mix, starting with the now infamously deleted remix of “So Pure” by Alanis Morisette, renamed “Jaded Little Pill” (apparently she hated it), which many regard as one of their greatest remixes.
The group have now released 4 studio albums and regularly DJ as Hybrid Sound System, their sound has developed over the years and is very difficult to categorise as it often touches on rock, progressive house, trance, techno and breakbeat; but what is constant is the depth and complexity of the production which goes into every track.
This is a mix of some of my favourite Hybrid tunes, all of which were released before 2002, in what I regard as their seminal period. To listen to this, I’d recommend locking yourself in a dark room, putting on some headphones and losing yourself in some of the most exquisitely constructed music you’ll ever hear.